08 surprises and disappointments

[Sulland]

For me one of the surprises in IRC this year is the speed of Basso, but he has been let down by equipment a few times.

Disappointed with that Abarth so far has not been able to close the gap to Pug.

I also thought that Alen would be higher this year, but he has never looked like a winner this year.

[CEORacingLions]

Luca for me... is a surprise.

Disappointments is the large difference between Nico , Luca , Basso and Loix for the other pilots.

Luca was the only one who gave the fight.

IRC needs much more pilots to fight for a Champ title or podium. Otherwise , IRC deads , like ERC.

[RS]

Luca for me... is a surprise.

Disappointments is the large difference between Nico , Luca , Basso and Loix for the other pilots.

Luca was the only one who gave the fight.

IRC needs much more pilots to fight for a Champ title or podium. Otherwise , IRC deads , like ERC.

True, but thats about 2 more than WRC!

Of course the Abarth reliability has been disappointing, but Basso has proved it can be very fast too. Alen is a disappointment. He wasn't great at the gravel rounds and still a long way off the pace on tarmac. He's still young but doesn't seem to have progressed since last year.

[HaCo]

Unfortunately I have the same feeling as RS about Alen. Also I expected more from Sola, but he did better in Asturias until he went off.

[Wim_Impreza]

What to say about Brice Tirabassi before he ended his IRC season? I didn't expect much from him, but this was really bad.

[CEORacingLions]

True, but thats about 2 more than WRC!


Yeah. But i think wrc nowadays is not example for anyone and then ... WRC always has an investment that others Champs hasn't.

I think you know what im saying.

[HaCo]

Yep Wim, disapointing as well!

[Mirek]

If Basso had Peugeot, he would be hard to stop. The fact he is able to defeat Kronos guys when the car works is clear proof of his level. Anyway great to have him in Fiat because otherwise Fiat would be nowhere...

Agree with Tirrabassi. He was realy dissappointing :(

Anyway what I worry about is IRC expansion somewhere noone goes racing. I wonder how much cars will compete in China after the change of place and date. If it means no APRC drivers there, the rally will be one big shame. They say there will be more distant rallys in 2009 season. Why? Noone goes there...

[urabus-denoS2000]

For me one of the surprises in IRC this year is the speed of Basso, but he has been let down by equipment a few times


For me Bassos speed is now surprise, last year he and Vouilloz were the fastest men around.As CEORacingLions said in the Rally Principe said, Basso is one of the best in the world in long stages

[c4]

Surprises for me would be the development of the Proton and Opel S2000's which both should be in next year's IRC and the Fabia's pace in Barum.

Disappointment would be Anton Alen and I don't think it is completely down to the car at the minute, perhaps a confidence thing. Also the stages on Rally Russia being so rough.

[Filip]

For me Basso's pace is no surprise, I think he is the best driver in the IRC for the moment (at least on tarmac).The most pleasant surprise is Luca Rossetti because he has proven that he can win anywhere. On the other hand, the Peugeot domination is boring, I hope Škoda will be fast enough for the top, otherwise we will have another WRC. I agree with Mirek about that distant rallies, already Safari and China rally last year had shown that such rallies are too far and expensive and only factory teams can afford that. I know there is a word intercontinental in the name of the championship, but almost all succesful rallies are in Europe.

[Sulland]

What to say about Brice Tirabassi before he ended his IRC season? I didn't expect much from him, but this was really bad.


So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

[OldF]

True, but thats about 2 more than WRC!

Of course the Abarth reliability has been disappointing, but Basso has proved it can be very fast too. Alen is a disappointment. He wasn't great at the gravel rounds and still a long way off the pace on tarmac. He's still young but doesn't seem to have progressed since last year.

Anton has still much to learn on tarmac but I wouldn’t say he’s so slow on gravel. OK, he’s speed in Turkey was a disappointment for me too but in Russia it was good. If I remember it right he was seventh after the first day and finished second. IMO that’s not bad.

For example Vallejo, who is leading the Spanish championship at the moment, was behind Anton. I don’t think you would say that would be a disappointment if for example Vallejo would finished 6th in a Finnish championship rally.

[HaCo]

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?
If you know, tell me please. :)

[Mihai]

Surprise: the return of Freddy Loix to the international rally scene.

Disapointments: the unimpressive pace of the Abarth & WV S2000 ; the 2WD championship ; very few drivers with a full-season programme.


So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

SWRT are simply desperate. http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[Madeira]

Well, I know they never competed yet, but the surprise for me it was the brand new Skoda Fabia S2000!!!

Disapointment: Abarth team despite the great driver that Basso is and specially the non official Puntos...

[Tom206wrc]

...
... On the other hand, the Peugeot domination is boring...



I hope you think the same about the Ford Focus Army in WRC... :rolleyes:

[RS]

Anton has still much to learn on tarmac but I wouldn’t say he’s so slow on gravel. OK, he’s speed in Turkey was a disappointment for me too but in Russia it was good. If I remember it right he was seventh after the first day and finished second. IMO that’s not bad.

For example Vallejo, who is leading the Spanish championship at the moment, was behind Anton. I don’t think you would say that would be a disappointment if for example Vallejo would finished 6th in a Finnish championship rally.

I do see what you mean, still I just expected a little bit more...

Certainly his early retirement in Portugal, illness in Madeira and gearbox problems in Barum have not helped him show what he can do.

I am sure Anton and Abarth will be looking for him to improve on San Remo and Valais.

[RS]

Well, I know they never competed yet, but the surprise for me it was the brand new Skoda Fabia S2000!!!

Hehe, I don't know if we can call it a surprise yet but as a Skoda fan I am very pleased about how much potential it seems to have and I think that will be one of the biggest talking points going in to the 2009 season, just how good can the Fabia be?...

Generally, the 2008 season has been much better than 2007 and I think 2009 will be better still, so at least it is going in the right direction. That's something we perhaps can't say about WRC at the moment.

[wwbroe]

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

Well the reason is simple, he brings in a lot of cash money. A friend of hilm won a lot of money with lotterie and decided he has to invest a lot of that money in buying a place in Subaru team for his "friend" Tiribassi. ;)

[sal]

A big dissapointment for me in 08 has been the tv coverage from Eurosport and the perceived lack of promotion of the series as a whole IMO. Often the English language coverage seemed ill informed and stilted and the footage itself poor. Suprised Eurosport or the promotors havent released a season review dvd in previous years and guess they wont do this year either.
Biggest dissapointment though is still no round in the UK !

[RS]

A big dissapointment for me in 08 has been the tv coverage from Eurosport and the perceived lack of promotion of the series as a whole IMO. Often the English language coverage seemed ill informed and stilted and the footage itself poor. Suprised Eurosport or the promotors havent released a season review dvd in previous years and guess they wont do this year either.
Biggest dissapointment though is still no round in the UK !

I am surprised you think the actual footage is poor, it seems on a simlar quality to the WRC stuff but with more helicopter footage and better onboards.

The commentary on the live shows can be quite clunky though, but thats because they are just that, live.

Have you tried the highlights shows screened a few days later? These are much slicker. They are also shown on Motors TV the following week with a different commentator.

Regarding a UK round, I hope the rumours of a round in Scotland next year are true!

[sal]

I am surprised you think the actual footage is poor, it seems on a simlar quality to the WRC stuff but with more helicopter footage and better onboards.

The commentary on the live shows can be quite clunky though, but thats because they are just that, live.

Have you tried the highlights shows screened a few days later? These are much slicker. They are also shown on Motors TV the following week with a different commentator.

Regarding a UK round, I hope the rumours of a round in Scotland next year
are true!

One of the major part of the draw of these cars is the screaming engine notes which are somewhat lost in helicopter footage! Regards the commentary I was talking about the review programmes several of which I've witnessed sound like they were recorded in the staff toilets! Dont have Motors TV so cant comment on what they make of it

I was just hoping Eurosport would make more of it as IMO there is as much if not more potential than with the WRC in it's current state. I remember the footage that Chris Courteyn used to produce of the ERC and that just seemed more "complete" It's great that there is live coverage just that a fair bit of it seems to be in the service park at the end of an event rather than out on the stages Having said all that I'm looking forward to the San Remo coverage when the Italain crews mix it with the regulars

[RS]

I believe Chris Courteyn is involved with the IRC coverage too.

I see what you mean about the engine noise not being heard on the helicopter footage but it is an interesting viewpoint of the cars so you see them through more than one or two corners.

Generally I like to have the live shows rather than having to wait until the evening for a round up but there is certainly room for improvement, yes.

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